Norway has three

dependent territories A dependent territory, dependent area, or dependency (sometimes referred as an external territory) is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a sovereign state, yet remains politically outside the controlli ...

( no, biland), all uninhabited and located in the Southern Hemisphere. Bouvet Island (Bouvetøya) is a sub-Antarctic island in the South Atlantic Ocean. Queen Maud Land is a sector of Antarctica which spans between the

20th meridian west The meridian 20° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole. The 20th meridian west forms a g ...

and the

45th meridian east The meridian 45° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole. The 45th meridian east forms a g ...

Peter I Island Peter I Island ( no, Peter I Øy) is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Bellingshausen Sea, from continental Antarctica. It is claimed as a dependency of Norway and, along with Bouvet Island and Queen Maud Land, composes one of the three No ...

is a volcanic island located off the coast of Ellsworth Land of continental Antarctica.

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...

is not formally considered to be a dependency. While the

Svalbard Treaty The Svalbard Treaty (originally the Spitsbergen Treaty) recognises the sovereignty of Norway over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, at the time called Spitsbergen. The exercise of sovereignty is, however, subject to certain stipulations, and n ...

regulates some aspects of that Arctic territory, one article acknowledges that these islands are part of Norway. Similarly, Jan Mayen is recognized as an integral part of the nation. Both are unincorporated areas. Both Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land are south of 60°S and are thus part of the

Antarctic Treaty System russian: link=no, Договор об Антарктике es, link=no, Tratado Antártico , name = Antarctic Treaty System , image = Flag of the Antarctic Treaty.svgborder , image_width = 180px , caption ...

. While the treaty states that the claims are not affected by the treaty, only the other countries with claims recognize Norwegian sovereignty on the island. The dependencies are administered by the Polar Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security in Oslo, Norway's capital. Norwegian

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

private law Private law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the ''jus commune'' that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts and torts (as it is called in the common law), and the law of obligations ( ...

and procedural law applies to the dependencies, in addition to other laws that explicitly state they are valid on the island.

Government and regulations

The dependency status entails that the island is not part of the Kingdom of Norway, but is still under Norwegian sovereignty. Specifically, this implies that the island can be ceded without violating the first article of the

Constitution of Norway nb, Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov nn, Kongeriket Noregs Grunnlov , jurisdiction =Kingdom of Norway , date_created =10 April - 16 May 1814 , date_ratified =16 May 1814 , system =Constitutional monarchy , b ...

.Gisle (1999): 38 Norwegian administration of the island is handled by the Polar Affairs Department of the

Ministry of Justice and the Police The Royal Ministry of Justice and Public Security ( no, Det kongelige justis- og beredskapsdepartement) is a Norwegian government ministry that oversees justice, the police, and domestic intelligence. The main purpose of the ministry is to provide ...

, located in Oslo. The annexation of the island is regulated by the Dependency Act of 24 March 1933. It establishes that Norwegian

and procedural law applies to the dependencies, in addition to other laws that explicitly state they are valid on each dependency. It further establishes that all land belongs to the state, and prohibits the storage and detonation of nuclear products. Since 5 May 1995,

Norwegian law Norwegian law may refer to: *Norwegian Law (Israel), a law on the appointment of ministers and membership of the Knesset *Law of Norway Law in Norway follows a Civil law (legal system), civil law system. The Supreme Court of Norway, Supreme Court ...

has required all Norwegian activity in Antarctica, including Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land, to follow international environmental law for Antarctica. All Norwegian citizens who plan activities must therefore report to the

Norwegian Polar Institute The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI; no, Norsk Polarinstitutt) is Norway's central governmental institution for scientific research, mapping and environmental monitoring in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The NPI is a directorate under Norway's Min ...

, who may deny any non-conforming activity. All people visiting the area must follow laws regarding protection of nature, treatment of waste, pollution and insurance for

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

operations. Bouvetøya has been designated with the ISO 3166-2 code BV and was subsequently awarded the country code

top-level domain A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet after the root domain. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in ...

on 21 August 1997.

History

* On 14 December 1911 five Norwegians, under the leadership of Roald Amundsen, were the first to reach the South Pole. * Bouvet Island was claimed in 1927 (formally in 1930; in 1935 the island was declared a nature reserve for seals). * Peter I Island was claimed in 1929 (formally in 1931). * Queen Maud Land (45°E to 20°E) was formally claimed as a Norwegian possession on 14 January 1938. * King Harald V became the first reigning monarch to visit Antarctica. He visited Queen Maud Land in 2015.

Areas

Bouvetøya

Bouvetøya (Bouvet Island) is an uninhabited Subantarctic volcanic island located in the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, either in the South Atlantic Ocean or the Southern Ocean, depending on definition. It is the most remote island in the world, approximately south-southwest off the coast of South Africa and approximately north of the

Princess Astrid Coast Princess Astrid Coast is a portion of the coast of Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, lying between 5° and 20° E. The entire coast is bordered by ice shelves. The region was discovered by Capt. H. Halvorsen of the Sevilla (ship) in March 1931 and in ...

of Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. The island has an area of , of which 93 percent is covered by a glacier. The center of the island is an ice-filled crater of an inactive volcano. Some

skerries A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to: Geography Northern Ireland * Skerries, County Armagh, a townland in County Armagh * Skerry, County Antrim, a ...

and one smaller island, Larsøya, lie along the coast. Nyrøysa, created by a

rock slide A rockslide is a type of landslide caused by rock failure in which part of the bedding plane of failure passes through compacted rock and material collapses ''en masse'' and not in individual blocks. Note that a rockslide is similar to an avalanc ...

in the late 1950s, is the only easy place to land and is the location of a weather station. Landing on the island is very difficult, as it normally experiences high seas and features a

steep coast A steep coastBird, Eric (2008). ''Coastal Geomorphology: An Introduction'', 2nd ed., Wiley, Chichester, 2008. is a stretch of coastline where the mainland descends abruptly into the sea. There is a sharp transition from the land to sea as opposed ...

.Barr (1987): 59 During the winter, it is surrounded by pack ice. The exclusive economic zone surrounding the island covers an area of .

Peter I Island

Peter I Island is a volcanic island located off the coast of Ellsworth Land of continental Antarctica. It has an area of . The island is almost entirely covered by glacier, with about 95% of the surface covered by ice.Barr (1987): 65 Surrounding the island is a tall ice front and vertical cliffs. The long stretches of ice caps are supplemented with rock outcrops. Landing is only possible at three points, and only during the short period of the year in which the island is not surrounded by pack ice. The island is a

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more v ...

, although it is not known if it is still active. An ultra prominent peak at elevation, it is named for Lars Christensen. Peter I Island is the only claim within 90°W and 150°W and is also the only claim which is not a sector.Kyvik ''et.al'' (2008): 57

Queen Maud Land

Queen Maud Land is a 2.7 million-sq-km (1.7 million sq mi) sector region of Antarctica. The territory lies between 20° west and 45° east, between the British Antarctic Territory to the west and the Australian Antarctic Territory to the east. The

latitudinal In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

limits of the territory are not officially defined. Positioned in

East Antarctica East Antarctica, also called Greater Antarctica, constitutes the majority (two-thirds) of the Antarctic continent, lying on the Indian Ocean side of the continent, separated from West Antarctica by the Transantarctic Mountains. It lies almost ...

, the territory comprises one-sixth of the total area of Antarctica.Mills (2003): 540. Most of the territory is covered by the

Antarctic ice sheet The Antarctic ice sheet is one of the two polar ice caps of Earth. It covers about 98% of the Antarctic continent and is the largest single mass of ice on Earth, with an average thickness of over 2 kilometers. It covers an area of almost and ...

, and a tall ice wall stretches throughout its coast. In some areas further within the ice sheet, mountain ranges breach through the ice, allowing for birds to breed and the growth of a limited flora. The region is divided into the Princess Martha Coast,

Princess Ragnhild Coast Princess Ragnhild Coast is the portion of the coast of Queen Maud Land in Antarctica lying between 20° E and the Riiser-Larsen Peninsula, at 34° E. All but the eastern end of the coast is fringed by ice shelves. It was discovered by Capt. Hj ...

Prince Harald Coast Prince Harald Coast is a portion of the coast of Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, encompassing Lutzow-Holm Bay, lying between Riiser-Larsen Peninsula, at 34° E, and the east entrance point of Lutzow-Holm Bay, marked by the coastal angle at 40° E. ...

and

Prince Olav Coast Prince Olav Coast ( no, Kronprins Olav Kyst) is that portion of the coast of Queen Maud Land between the east entrance point of Lutzow-Holm Bay, marked by the coastal angle at 40° E, and Shinnan Glacier at 44° 38' E. It was discovered by Capt. H ...

. Off the coast is

King Haakon VII Sea King Haakon VII Sea ( no, King Haakon VII Hav) is a proposed name for part of the Southern Ocean on the coast of East Antarctica. Geography The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), often recognized as the authority for worldwide wa ...

.Stonehouse: 155–156. There is no ice-free land at the coast; the coast consists of a wall of ice throughout almost the entire territory. There is no permanent population, although there are 12 active research stations housing a maximum average of 40 scientists, the numbers fluctuating depending on the season. Six are occupied year-round, while the remainder are seasonal summer stations. The main aerodromes for intercontinental flights, corresponding with Cape Town, South Africa, are Troll Airfield, near the Norwegian Troll research station, and a runway at the Russian Novolazarevskaya Station.Rubin (2008): 305.

References

{{Authority control Norway